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Solon was a prominent figure in ancient Greece, credited with laying the foundations for Athenian democracy and reforming the laws. He also traveled to Egypt, where he heard the story of Atlantis, and to Croesus's court in Lydia.
- Overview
- Solon’s era
- Economic reforms
- Political reforms
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Solon, (born c. 630 bce—died c. 560 bce), Athenian statesman, known as one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece (the others were Chilon of Sparta, Thales of Miletus, Bias of Priene, Cleobulus of Lindos, Pittacus of Mytilene, and Periander of Corinth). Solon ended exclusive aristocratic control of the government, substituted a system of control by the we...
In Solon’s lifetime, the Greeks had not yet begun to write history or biography. It was not until the 5th century that accounts of his life and works began to be put together, on the evidence of his poems (of which the 300 or so lines preserved by quotation probably represent only a small proportion), his law code, oral tradition, and inference from existing institutions. Although certain details have a legendary ring, the main features of the story seem to be reliable.
Solon was of noble descent but moderate means. As the tradition states and his travels and economic measures suggest, he may have been a merchant. He first became prominent about 600 bce, when the Athenians were disheartened by ill success in a war with their neighbours of Megara for possession of the island of Salamis. By publicly reciting a poem that made the issue a matter of national honour and that called on the Athenians to “arise and come to Salamis, to win that fair island and undo our shame,” Solon induced them to resume the war, which they eventually won.
Solon had already held office as archon (annual chief ruler) about 594 bce. It was probably about 20 years later that he was given full powers as reformer and legislator. His first concern was to relieve the immediate distress caused by debt. He redeemed all the forfeited land and freed all the enslaved citizens, probably by fiat. This measure, known popularly as the “shaking off of burdens,” was described by Solon in one of his poems:
These things the black earth…could best witness for the judgment of posterity; from whose surface I plucked up the marking-stones [probably signs of the farmers’ indebtedness] planted all about, so that she who was enslaved is now free. And I brought back to Athens…many who had been sold, justly or unjustly, or who had fled under the constraint of debt, wandering far afield and no longer speaking the Attic tongue; and I freed those who suffered shameful slavery here and trembled at their masters’ whims.
He also prohibited for the future all loans secured on the borrower’s person. But he refused to go to the length demanded by the poor, which was to redistribute the land. Instead, he passed measures designed to increase the general prosperity and to provide alternative occupations for those unable to live by farming: e.g., trades and professions were encouraged; the export of produce other than olive oil was forbidden (so much grain had been exported that not enough remained to feed the population of Attica); the circulation of coined money (invented in Solon’s lifetime) was stimulated by the minting of a native Athenian coinage on a more-suitable standard than that of the coins of neighbours, which had been used hitherto; and new weights and measures were introduced. The rapid spread of the new coinage and of Athenian products, particularly olive oil and pottery, throughout the commercial world of the times, attested by archaeology, shows that these measures were effective. Poverty, though not eliminated, was never again in Attica the crying evil that it had been before Solon’s reforms.
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Solon’s new political constitution abolished the monopoly of the eupatridae and substituted for it government by the wealthy citizens. He instituted a census of annual income, reckoned primarily in measures of grain, oil, and wine, the principal products of the soil, and divided the citizens into four income groups, accordingly. (Those whose income...
Solon was a Greek statesman and poet who reformed Athenian society and government in the 6th century BCE. He freed the enslaved, redistributed land, and introduced a new law code and a system of government by income groups.
Solon is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, with various community resources, events, and services. Learn about the city's history, news, projects, and programs on the official website.
Mar 10, 2016 · Learn about Solon, the Athenian statesman who restructured the social and political system of Athens and laid the foundations for democracy. Find out his achievements, challenges, and legacy in this comprehensive article.
- Mark Cartwright
Solon is a noun that can mean a wise and skillful lawgiver or a member of a legislative body. Learn more about the word history, synonyms, examples, and related entries of solon from Merriam-Webster.
May 1, 2016 · Solon the Athenian was a great philosopher and one of the seven sages of ancient Greece. However, he’s mainly remembered for being the legislator who laid the foundation for Athenian democracy with his reforms and efforts to legislate against political, economic, and moral decline.
Solon’s laws, constitutional and judicial reforms instituted by the Athenian statesman and poet Solon probably 20 years after he served as archon (annual chief ruler) in 594 bce. Responding to the early 6th-century Athenian conflict between the landed aristocracy and peasantry, Solon was called.
